After being assaulted in Portland, Oregon, Suzette Angier struggles to regain her life after losing parts of her memory. She is befriended by newly widowed Dr. Jean Layton, and by Alan Layton, Dr. Layton's brother-in-law, a man known for his charms. Armed with a ticket from the Golden Gate Theater, Suzette gets on a plane to San Francisco. While in the City by the Bay, an unfamiliar woman calls her by the name Carol Mooney. Suzette curiously searches for the name in the phone directory, finds it, and calls only to be shocked to hear her own voice on the answering machine.Suzette goes to the address listed for Carol Mooney hoping to find answers to her mounting questions. The caretaker recognizes her and lets her into an apartment. Parts of her memory are instantly rekindled when she finds old letters and a photograph of Mont Saint Michel, a huge lump of rock in France. Amidst the turmoil of her past unfolding, Suzette finds she is falling in love. After reading an anonymous note saying, "What I will do to you will make you pray to die," Suzette must return to France to face the complexities of life and love.